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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 7597113" data-attributes="member: 6779196"><p>In 4e’s default setting, disenchanting magical items produced a byproduct called residuum. Residuum was a highly magically potent material, which could be used to fuel ritual spells and enchant magic items. So, if you had a sword of sharpness and wanted a spear of sharpness, you could disenchant the sword, and use the residuum from that to help enchant a spear. But if I recall correctly, the process was not 100% efficient, so the residuum you’d get from disenchanting a sword of sharpness would be less than the amount of residuum required to enchant a weapon with “of sharpness.” In my own custom setting, I use this concept, and I add that residuum is a finite resource. No one alive remembers how the first magical items were made, so every time you break down a magic item, the risiduim lost in that process is gone for good. This is why ancient magical artifacts tend to be more powerful than newly-created magic items - enchanters are working with less and less of the raw materials required to create an enchantment with every cycle. It also makes such artifacts highly sought after, regardless of their specific effects, because they represent an influx of an incredibly valuable resource that can be used to make many more, if weaker, magic items. Sure, breaking down the legendary sword of king whoziwhatsit means one less Legendary item in the world, but it could also mean a dozen generic +1 magic swords to equip your army with.</p></blockquote><p></p>

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